Rising food prices in Ghana are not boosting farmers’ incomes, an agribusiness chief executive has said, pointing to high input costs, losses after harvest and poor access to credit.
Daniel Fahene Acquaye, chief executive of Agri-Impact Group, told an interview that dear food does not automatically mean fat profits for producers. Farmers, he said, receive only a fraction of the retail price once transport, storage, market levies and trader margins are stripped out along the supply chain.
He identified the sharp rise in input costs as a leading drain on incomes. Prices of fertiliser, improved seeds, agrochemicals, fuel and labour have climbed steeply in recent years, lifting production costs while harvest prices often fail to keep pace. Smallholders, who make up most of Ghana’s producers, are least able to absorb the squeeze.
Losses after harvest compound the problem. Weak storage, poor roads and limited processing capacity destroy large volumes of perishable crops such as tomatoes, vegetables and fruit, Acquaye said, forcing farmers to sell at once when supply is high and prices are low.
Financing is another hurdle. Many farmers cannot secure loans because of steep interest rates and demanding collateral terms, leaving them unable to invest in irrigation, mechanisation and modern technology that would raise output.
“Agriculture is a business and businesses need capital to grow,” he said.
Acquaye also flagged climate change as a growing threat, noting that erratic rainfall, dry spells, floods and pests are cutting yields. Prices may rise when output falls, he said, but farmers whose crops are damaged have little left to sell.
To turn this around, he urged stronger investment in farm infrastructure, wider access to agricultural finance and stronger cooperatives to improve farmers’ market access and bargaining power. He also pressed policymakers to build efficient value chains that let producers keep a larger share of the value they create.
He warned that food security would remain out of reach if farmers stay poor while consumers pay more, adding that better incomes are key to drawing young people into farming and sustaining the sector.
